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Packard Bell

For the Packard Bell company active from the 1920s to 1968, see Packard Bell Corporation.
Packard Bell
Current logo as used by Southern Telecom
OwnerSouthern Telecom, Inc. (U.S. and Canada)
CountryUnited States (until 2000, since 2014)
Netherlands (formerly)
Introduced1986
MarketsComputer industry
Previous owners
  • Packard Bell Electronics, Inc. (1986–1996)
  • NEC Corporation (1996–2006)
  • PB Holdings Co. (2006–2008)
  • Acer, Inc. (2008–2014)
Packard Bell Electronics, Inc.
Formerly
  • Packard Bell Electronics, Inc. (1986–1996)
  • Packard Bell NEC, Inc. (1996–1999)
  • NEC Computers International BV (1999–2006)
  • PB Holdings Co. (2006–2008)
Company type
  • Private (1986–1994, 2006–2008)
  • Subsidiary (1994–2006)
IndustryComputer
Founded1986; 39 years ago (1986) in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California
Founder
DefunctJuly 15, 1994; 30 years ago (1994-07-15)[1]
February 2008; 16 years ago (2008-02)
FateAcquired by NEC (1994)
Acquired by Acer Inc. (2008)
Headquarters
ParentNEC (1994–2006)

Packard Bell is a personal computer hardware brand which originated as Packard Bell Electronics, Inc., an independent American computer company founded in Los Angeles in 1986 by Israeli-American investors who bought the trademark rights to the historic Packard Bell Corporation from Teledyne; in spite of similarities in their names, Packard Bell has no connection to either Hewlett-Packard or Bell System.

Packard Bell helped to pioneer the mass market for PCs in the United States by selling in big office stores. In the early 1990s, the company entered the European market and opened its regional headquarters in Wijchen, Netherlands, in 1993. By this time, they had become the second largest OEM for IBM PC–compatibles in the U.S.[3] Packard Bell merged its operations with Japanese electronics conglomerate NEC, known as Packard Bell NEC, in 1996; NEC took majority control in 1998 and made it a subsidiary.[4]

At the time of the merger, Packard Bell was the largest PC maker in the American market having overtaken Compaq, but increasing competition and losses led to NEC stopping its North American operations by 2000,[5][6] focusing squarely on European and other markets under its profitable Packard Bell Europe in the Netherlands,[7] which later diversified to products such as portable media players. This unit, renamed to NEC Computers International, became responsible for all Packard Bell and NEC operations outside of Japan and China.[7] In 2006, NEC divested the Packard Bell division to Chinese-American entrepreneur Lap Shun Hui, and in 2008, the brand was acquired by Taiwanese firm Acer, in the aftermath of their takeover of Gateway, Inc.[8] Packard Bell BV under Acer, based in Nijmegen,[9] continued making Packard Bell products for the European, African and Middle Eastern markets until at least 2013.[10] Southern Telecom Inc. later acquired the rights to the brand in North America and started selling PCs there in 2018. Universal Exports Group Limited a Hong Kong based manufacturing company licensed the brand name from Acer in Taiwan in 2019 for the SADC region. [11]

  1. ^ Fukuchi, Ken; Akiko Shikimori; Chris Shimizu (July 15, 1996). "Agreement Concluded Between Packard Bell and NEC on Merger of Worldwide PC Operations". NEC Corporation. Archived from the original on February 18, 2002.
  2. ^ Staff writer (May 11, 2007). "Afgeslankt Packard Bell van Wijchen naar Nijmegen" [Downsized Packard Bell from Wijchen to Nijmegen]. de Gelderlander (in Dutch). DPG Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2024.
  3. ^ "Packard Bell opens European headquarters in Netherlands". UPI.org. United Press International. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  4. ^ Hamilton, David P. (August 3, 1998). "NEC to Infuse Additional $225 Million in Packard Bell for Controlling Stake". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: B5. ProQuest 398766901.
  5. ^ "NEC disables Packard Bell NEC in the US". ZDNET. CBS Interactive. July 28, 2000. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "NEC finally pulls plug on Packard Bell". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  7. ^ a b Shimizu, Chris (November 10, 1999). "NEC to Reorganize and Refocus Its Global Computer and Server Business". NEC Corporation. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002.
  8. ^ "Global Dispatches: Gateway to Buy Packard Bell". Computerworld. IDG Publications. October 15, 2007. Archived from the original on October 16, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  9. ^ "Notice for Allowance". U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on October 16, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Lilly, Paul (January 27, 2013). "Acer Discontinues eMachines Brand, Gateway and Packard Bell Still Kicking". Hot Hardware. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013.
  11. ^ "Southern Telecom Relaunching Packard Bell Brand in North America". Licensing International. 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
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